Morning News Call - India, December 20

Reuters Staff

7 Min Read

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(India Morning Newsletter will not be published through the year-end
holiday season from December 26, 2016 to December 30, 2016. Normal service will
resume from January 2, 2017. Season's Greetings and Happy New Year.)
FACTORS TO WATCH
9:30 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu at
conference on accounting reforms in Indian railways in New Delhi.
2:00 pm: Power Minister Piyush Goyal to launch REC developed mobile app in
New Delhi.
LIVECHAT-BREXIT WRAPUP.
We take stock of Brexit so far and assess the economic outlook for the UK
with Andrew Goodwin, UK economist at Oxford Economics, at 03:30 pm. To join the
conversation, click on the link: here
INDIA TOP NEWS
 Cyrus Mistry quits Tata group company boards, but vows to fight on
Tata Sons' ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry in a surprise move late on Monday
said he was resigning from the boards of all listed Tata companies, but he vowed
to keep fighting to improve governance within the $100 billion software-to-salt
conglomerate.
 RBI tightens cash deposit rules just days before deadline
India's central bank tightened cash deposit rules on Monday, just days
before the demonetisation deadline, saying individuals can bank over 5,000
rupees ($73.83) of old notes only once until December 30 if they provide a
satisfactory reason.
 India's Laurus Labs jumps over 16 percent on market debut
Indian generic drugmaker Laurus Labs Ltd's shares rose as much as 16.36
percent on their market debut on Monday after the company's initial public
offering raised $196.6 million.
 SAIL in talks with Japan's Nippon Steel, Kobe for tie-ups
Steel Authority of India Ltd is in talks with Japan's Nippon Steel &
Sumitomo Metal Corp and Kobe Steel Ltd for potential technical agreements to
help the firm expand its global footprint, SAIL's chairman told
Reuters.
 Five men sentenced to death in India for Hyderabad bombings
Five men were sentenced to death by an Indian court on Monday for their role
in two deadly bombings in 2013 in the city of Hyderabad, including the
co-founder of an outlawed Islamist group accused of involvement in a series of
attacks.
 COLUMN-Gold outlook is hostage to uncertain Trump and India: Russell
It was supposed to be a good year for gold, given all the uncertainty and
surprises over the U.S. presidential election, the British vote to leave the
European Union and general concern about the health of the global
economy.
 India indicts Pakistan-based militants over air base attack
India's top counter-terrorism agency on Monday charged Pakistan-based
militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and its top leader, with perpetrating a
deadly attack on an Indian air force base in January.
 Pakistani cinemas quietly show Indian films again as tensions ease, losses
mount
Pakistani movie theatres began screening Bollywood films again on Monday,
ending an 11-week boycott in response to political and military tensions with
India, theatre officials said.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
 Truck ploughs into crowd at Berlin Christmas market, 12 dead
A truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday
evening, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others in what Germany's interior
minister said looked like an attack.
 Russian ambassador shot dead in Ankara gallery
The Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot in the back and killed as he gave
a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday by an off-duty police officer who
shouted "Don't forget Aleppo" and "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire.
 BOJ seen offering brighter view of economy, keep policy on hold
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep monetary policy steady and give a more
upbeat view of the economy on Tuesday, reinforcing market expectations that its
future policy direction could be an increase - not a cut - in interest
rates.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
 The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 8,122.00, down 0.11 pct from its
previous close.
 The Indian rupee will likely open lower against the dollar, tracking its
Asian peers, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's positive comments about the
health of the U.S. labor market propped up the greenback.
 Indian government bonds will likely edge higher after the central bank
said it would sell a new 13-year paper at this week's auction, buoying investor
sentiment.The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to
trade in a 6.48 pct - 6.53 pct band.
GLOBAL MARKETS
 Wall Street extended a recent rally on Monday but finished the session
short of earlier highs after several people were killed by a truck driven into a
Christmas market in Germany.
 The safe-haven Japanese yen was up after attacks in Germany and Turkey
spooked investors, while regional stocks were steady as financial markets
pondered upbeat comments from the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
 The yen and the Swiss franc held firm after two separate deadly attacks in
Turkey and Germany raised security worries in the West, while the Bank of
Japan's policy decision later in the day also saw buyers pile into the Japanese
currency.
 U.S. Treasury prices rose on Monday as investors were seen covering short
positions heading into year-end, but gave up some gains after Federal Reserve
Chair Janet Yellen gave an upbeat view of the jobs market.
 Oil prices eased as traders began to unwind positions in the run-up to the
year-end holiday season.
 Gold prices edged lower, after closing up in the two previous sessions, as
optimistic remarks on the U.S. labor market by Federal Reserve Chair Janet
Yellen strengthened the possibility of further rate hikes next year.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT
PNDF spot 67.69/67.72 December 19 -$79.01 mln -$54.81 mln
10-yr bond yield 6.74 pct Month-to-date -$76.95 mln -$2.73 bln
Year-to-date $4.07 bln -$5.88 bln
For additional data:
India govt bond market volumes
Stock market reports
Non-deliverable forwards data
Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD]
Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT]
Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN]
($1 = 67.87 Indian rupees)
(Compiled by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru)